Melbourne’s skyline to become tallest in the nation

MELBOURNE- Melbourne will soon have Australia’s tallest skyline, with more than 100 skyscrapers higher than 100 metres (328.08 ft) planned or already under construction.

The rush of mostly residential towers is set to double the number of very tall buildings in the central city within just a few years.

Seven new skyscrapers over 265 metres (869.42 ft) would enter the city’s top 10 tallest towers, subject to planning approvals.

The Eureka Tower could become the city’s third-highest building, overshadowed by such developments as James Packer’s Queensbridge Hotel Tower.

The 313-metre (1026.9 ft), 90-floor proposal for Southbank was announced in October 2015, but an official application is yet to be submitted to the Victorian government.

Sydney is all but certain to lose its grip on the tallest Australian city status, with just 29 buildings over 100 metres (328.08 ft) planned, Savills Australia national head of research Tony Crabb said this was because the harbour city was rapidly running out of land.

“Sydney has 30 per cent less land than Melbourne in a 3.5-kilometre (2.17 mile) radius of the CBD because of the harbour, and so because we have a lot more land, we have a lot more options to build,” Mr Crabb said.

“Sydney is now in the throes of building suburban CBDs to take the pressure off Sydney’s CBD.”

Of the 100-plus buildings over 100 metres (328.08 ft) planned or being built in Melbourne, 30 are under construction, including the 318-metre (1043.31 ft) Australia 108 tower in Southbank and another 5 towers over 200 metres (656.17 ft).

Victorian Planning Minister Richard Wynne said it was “inevitable” some of the planning permits would be “flipped” or sold on at an inflated price. But he was confident most of the plans would come to fruition.

“I think [the property market] is still very robust and I think generally people are putting proposals forward that they intend to build, and not just sit on or speculate on,” Mr Wynne said.

“There doesn’t appear to be anything on the horizon that would suggest any significant change in the market in Melbourne.”

The Andrews government is launching reviews into the quality of apartments in Melbourne and planning rules in the CBD, with interim laws introduced last year to limit the density of new skyscrapers.

Mr Wynne said: “It’s not about height; it’s about good design, good public realm outcomes, good amenity – they are the things we always look for,” Mr Wynne said.

“Is a development offering something back? Or is it just another building?”